Stolen Innocence
by Mornwey
Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Stolen Innocence**

**Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi  
Fandom: Yu-gi-oh  
Pairings: Mainly Yami/Yugi, some side-pairings  
Warnings: Yaoi, non-con, bad language  
Disclaimer: Don't own shit - poor me. Except Hiroko…she's all mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to steal her  
Author's Note: This is set a couple of years after the canon stuff happens. Yugi's grandfather has died and Yugi inherited the house and shop. (I'll be honest here – I'm just too lazy to write the old man in)**

**Feedback is crack for fan-fiction writers, and I need my fix. Review or die**

**Chapter 1**

It was a bad part of town, and the people who lived there had learned long ago that minding their own business was the only way to survive. So if anyone heard the struggling and muffled screams coming from a dank alleyway, they pretended they didn't.

Some minutes later a tall, heavy-set man swaggered out of the alley. It wasn't until quite a while after he'd gone that anyone thought to call help for the boy huddled in a bleeding, sobbing heap in the shadows.

XxXxXxX

Hiroko swayed a little and pinched the bridge of her nose. Gods, she was exhausted…and not just because she'd been working without a break for more than five hours now. She'd been a doctor for six years, and she'd thought she'd seen the very worst of humanity, that nothing could shock her any more. She'd been wrong.

Doctors were supposed to be detached and impersonal, but she couldn't suppress her disgust and anger at the world in general when she saw the state of the boy lying unconscious on the bed. He was eighteen, according to the hospital's records, but he looked younger.

He had been incoherent when they arrived on the scene, and the paramedics had only managed to get his name before they were forced to sedate him. A quick search of his records had yielded a home phone number, and she winced at the memory of the anger in the voice of the person who had answered the phone. _At least the kid has someone who cares he's hurt. Enough of them don't…_ He had woken briefly and asked for someone called Yami before a second dose of sedative took effect. _Friend? Boyfriend? Brother? I'm not sure. But whoever he is, I hope he's going to look out for this kid._

The staff nurse had directed his friends to a waiting room when they arrived. There had been a girl and three boys. One of the boys had an almost eerie resemblance to the patient – an older brother, she presumed. She had been slightly puzzled that there was no adult accompanying them, but six years' experience had taught her that sometimes it was better to just let certain things go.

Time to deliver the bad news – as the patient stirred and began to wake; she took a deep breath and headed for the waiting room.

XxXxXxX

The hospital's waiting room was the typical waiting room of institutions everywhere. The furniture was a little shabby and not particularly comfortable, the décor bland and about twenty years old. The only thing in its favour was the lack of the tinny elevator music that so often accompanied such places.

In fact, the only sound in the room was the sound of footsteps as someone paced restlessly back and forth. No-one had dared speak since Yami had arrived ten minutes ago. Everything about his movements and expression spoke eloquently of pure fury, and the others in the room weren't foolish enough to risk incurring his wrath. They knew him well enough to know that he was just itching for an excuse to kill something.

After what seemed like an eternity, but could only have been a few minutes, a doctor entered the room. She was somewhere in her late twenties, her glasses on the verge of falling off and her brown hair pinned up haphazardly. She carried a clipboard, and had the harassed expression common in doctors. Her name was Hiroko Shima according to the nametag pinned crookedly to the lapel of the lab-coat. She took in the group; looking variously worried, upset or angry; swallowed nervously and cleared her throat.

"Is there someone called…" she glanced at the clipboard; "…'Yami' here?""Yes," Yami said immediately.  
"This way, please." 

Hiroko paused with her hand on the doorknob; "I warn you," she told the group, "This will be something of a shock…"  
"What happened to 'im?" a tall, blonde boy with a distinctive accent asked. She stared at him.  
"And you are…?"  
"Joey," the boy replied defiantly; "I'm 'is friend." Hiroko looked around at the circle of faces, and sighed in resignation.  
"Whoever called the ambulance was gone when we arrived;" she said after a moment's thought; "And all the bystanders denied having seen anything. But we did a thorough examination, and we're pretty sure what happened…" Her voice broke and she shook her head. _I hate this job. I hate having to tell families and friends things like this_. She took a deep breath and forced herself to continue: "He was badly beaten and then raped."

The reaction was immediate. The girl burst into tears, and the dark-haired boy put a comforting arm around her, although his face had murder written all over it. Joey swore vehemently and punched an inoffensive wall which had the misfortune to be within reach. Yami froze – for a moment he could hardly have looked more stricken if she'd slapped him. Guilt, shock, and horror warred across his face, but all else was ultimately pushed aside by anger. "Let us see him," he said in a tightly controlled voice, his eyes ablaze with fury. Hiroko wasn't stupid enough to argue – she opened the door and stepped aside to let them enter.

Yugi was sitting up on the hospital bed, his violet eyes haunted. Bandages were visible; the left side of his face was badly bruised and his lip was split. He looked up at the sound of the door opening. "Yami?" he said weakly. Almost instantaneously, without appearing to move through the intervening space, Yami was at his side. He wrapped his arms around the terrified boy, who began to cry into his shoulder.

"Shh, don't cry. You're safe now." He held the fragile little form close, and silently vowed that he would wreak a terrible revenge on the bastard that had stolen his hikari's innocence.

XxXxXxX

Hours had passed, and it was now sometime after midnight. The others had gone home a while ago, promising to visit the next day. Yugi was asleep, sedated again, but Yami was still there; and his manner indicated quite clearly that he wasn't going to leave until someone made him. He looked pale and tired, shadows forming under his eyes. One of the nurses had taken pity on him and brought him a cup of coffee. He tasted the bitter liquid, grimaced, and then drained the cup in one swallow. Although her inner doctor pointed out that he would probably pass out from exhaustion soon, Hiroko couldn't help but approve. _If every patient had someone that devoted to them, a lot of them wouldn't be in here in the first place_.

It was after 2am when she finally convinced him to go home. He was dead on his feet by this point, and she decided it would probably be for the best if the showed him out herself. As the waited for the elevator, he spoke unexpectedly:

"Thank you."  
"What for?"  
"For letting me stay. I'd imagine most doctors wouldn't be as understanding and a lot more insistent about things like visiting hours."  
"Any doctor who made someone in your situation leave would either be insanely anal or a complete asshole." He smiled faintly and fell silent.

They parted at the main doors, and Hiroko felt compelled to say something;  
"The police are searching for the person that did this," she said, "He'll be going to prison for a long time."  
"There won't be any need for that," Yami growled, "Because once I've got my hands on him, there won't be enough _left_ to imprison." Hiroko eyed him speculatively.  
"Speaking as an official of the city, I would warn you against taking the law into your own hands," she said rather formally, then stopped as a vicious glint entered her eyes, "But speaking as someone who's patched up too many kids like this, I wish you luck."

** TO BE CONTINUED **


	2. Chapter 2

**Stolen Innocence**

**Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi  
Fandom: Yu-gi-oh  
Pairings: Mainly Yami/Yugi, some side-pairings  
Warnings: Yaoi, non-con, bad language  
Disclaimer: Don't own shit - poor me. Except Hiroko, Yoji and Kaori…they're all mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to steal them. I own Tenchi too, but you're welcome to him. He's an asshole  
Author's Note: Just clarifying a point here – although Yami is plotting revenge, his main concern at the moment is making sure Yugi doesn't break down completely. Much as I enjoy constructive mutilation, the main point of this fic is to provide an excuse for shameless fluff.**

**Although I suppose I could add some constructive mutilation if you really want me to…**

**Chapter 2**

Yami's first instinctive reaction was anger. But after, inevitably, came guilt. It was almost four in the morning when he got home. He was exhausted, but his conscience wouldn't let him sleep. _I was supposed to protect him. I should have been there._ He lay awake for hours. The only way to silence his conscience was to drown it, and it was with the aid of a bottle of whiskey that he finally slipped into a shallow, nightmare-haunted sleep.

When he woke the next morning – or possibly afternoon – there was a brief, blissful moment in which he remembered absolutely nothing about the previous day. Then reality came flooding back in merciless detail, bringing a wicked headache with it. He moaned and buried his head in his arms – the real world was currently an unfriendly place, full of pain and unpleasant memories.

_Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Yugi needs you_.

Ah, there was that damned conscience again. But irritating and intrusive though it may have been, Yami was forced to admit that it was right. He took a couple of painkillers and went searching for fresh clothes – screw visiting hours.

**XxXxXxX**

Doctor Tenchi Okama was twenty-four, and it was barely six months since he had graduated from university. He was determined to excel at his first job – admittedly mainly in the hopes of getting a reference for a more prestigious hospital. To this end, he had read the rule book from cover to cover.

His immediate superior was Doctor Hiroko Shima, and her sometimes blatant disregard for the rules…or rather; The Rules, irritated him immensely. He had yet to grasp that the rules were in most cases guidelines, to be bent slightly or ignored completely at the discretion of the experienced official. Fortunately they now worked separate shifts, so their very different approaches to their profession could only clash on the occasional day where one or the other worked overtime.

Tenchi was convinced that the world would be a better place if everyone followed The Rules.

And as such, he was nothing short of shocked to find someone who was neither patient nor staff in the hospital outside of normal visiting hours. It was an outrage! He hurried after the offending person as they walked purposefully down the corridor.

"I wouldn't," said a voice to his left. He stopped and looked over. Kaori, a motherly middle-aged nurse, was sitting at the Duty Nurse's desk, idly leafing though some records. She glanced up at him again and shook her head warningly.  
"Why not?" he asked, confused. She clearly didn't understand the situation – The Rules stated quite clearly that no visitors were to be allowed outside of visiting hours.  
"For various reasons," she replied, setting the records aside and regarding him intently; "Firstly – the young man you seem to want to apprehend is currently very angry at the world in general, and it would be extremely stupid to make yourself too easy a target."  
"I hardly think –"  
"Secondly," she continued as if she hadn't heard him; "Doctor Shima seems to have taken this case personally, and she wouldn't be happy to hear that you had been interfering."  
"I am the senior official on duty," Tenchi said irritably, "It's my decision."

Kaori scowled. She'd been on duty since midnight, and she was in no mood to put up with any wet-behind-the-ears doctor barely out of university. "Don't you _dare_ try to pull rank on me," she snapped; "I've been nursing for more than thirty years – I was working in this hospital before you were born, you jumped-up bureaucratic incompetent."  
"But the rules say…" he protested feebly.  
"The rules say we are to care for the patient's physical _and_ mental health, don't they?" she cut him off with the air of someone explaining to a recalcitrant four-year-old why he had to eat his vegetables.  
"Well, yes, but…"  
"I've seen cases like this before, and right now that patient is going to need a familiar face around. You have no idea how messed-up his head must be right now."  
"Look, I'm sorry, but I have to…"

Kaori pursed her lips thoughtfully, then gave an evil smile; "I told you that Doctor Shima – your immediate superior – had taken this case personally. Wouldn't it be…tragic…if this incident was clouding her judgment when the time came for her to write your reference?"

Tenchi went white.

"I…er…I'll be in my office." He stalked away, muttering to himself. Kaori smirked. It was easy to manipulate people – you just had to know which buttons to press.

**XxXxXxX**

Hiroko was completely unsurprised to find Yami already there when she came on duty at 8pm. She suspected that he wouldn't have left at all if she hadn't made him.

She had gone home and went straight to bed when she finally clocked off at six in the morning. There was nothing quite like working night-shift to irrevocably screw up a person's internal clock – it was worse than jet-lag. By the time she had woken up, she'd only been able to get some probably-breakfast-but-technically-dinner before she had to leave for work again. For quite some time now, her routine had seemed to consist purely of either working or sleeping.

_Life? What would I want with one of those?_

She picked up a schedule from the young male trainee nurse who was working the desk – she did a quick mental search for his name and eventually come up with Yoji. Hiroko breathed a sigh of relief as she looked it over. There were no surgeries planned, so - barring emergencies - it would be a quiet night. Just doing the rounds…and making sure none of their current patients died unexpectedly. That was always so embarrassing.

"Kaori told me that new doctor was trying to throw his weight around," the trainee nurse said conversationally as she handed the clipboard back. Hiroko groaned.  
"Oh gods, not again…" She stopped; "Wait, 'trying to'?" The nurse grinned.  
"You know what Kaori's like - jerked him up short," he said, "I think he's got a clearer idea of who's _really_ running things on his shift."  
"About time too," Hiroko muttered.

**XxXxXxX**

Things settled into a routine after that. Yami was always there when Hiroko came on duty, and it was invariably in the early hours of the morning that she finally convinced him to go home. By the end of the week, he was on friendly terms with almost all of the staff…except from, to quote Yami directly, "that idiot Okama".

He was also, Hiroko noted with approval, very protective of Yugi. It was fascinating to watch the two together. They didn't seem to have any sense of personal space – almost as if they weren't entirely two separate people…Which was, as any normal person would have said, ridiculous. Hiroko wasn't really sure what to believe. Her medical training had taught her not to look beyond the material world, and physical evidence. But she had seen things that shook that conviction – someone in a coma responding to the touch or voice of a friend, or a mortally injured person making a miraculous recovery at the plea of a loved one.

She still wasn't entirely clear on the exact nature of their relationship. Brothers? Unlikely. They certainly didn't act like it. If it wasn't for their resemblance, it probably wouldn't even have occurred to her. Friends? Unquestionably. But were they _just_ friends? There was certainly something possessive about Yami's attitude, and a level of devotion beyond anything their other friends had shown. They visited the hospital – Yami was a step away from taking up residence.

The pathetically inadequate part of her mind that handled her conscience was pointing out that it really wasn't any of her business. It was lucky, in that case, that Hiroko had long ago perfected the art of completely ignoring her conscience. _Screw you – I'm curious_._ Yeah, it's unprofessional…and I bet you can hear me caring from all the way over there._

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**_Damn_, that was a hard chapter to write. So I'll understand if you hate it – I'm not even sure if I particularly like the stupid thing myself.**

**Review or I'll set Yami on you**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stolen Innocence**

**Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi  
Fandom: Yu-gi-oh  
Pairings: Mainly Yami/Yugi, some side-pairings  
Warnings: Yaoi, non-con, bad language  
Disclaimer: Don't own shit - poor me. Except Hiroko, Yoji and Kaori…they're all mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to steal them. I own Tenchi too, but you're welcome to him. He's an asshole  
Author's Note: I know the last chapter was pretty pointless, and I apologise for it. Hopefully this one will be better. It was actually originally very different, but a lot of people wanted background on Hiroko. I hope you appreciate how damn hard it was to tie her story into the main plot**

**I pulled an all-nighter to get this finished, so I apologise if it's a little incoherent, especially towards the end**

**Chapter 3 **

Hiroko Shima was generally considered to be a very good doctor. It was odd, in that case, that she had never actually wanted to be a doctor. She had wanted nothing more than to marry, settle down, and be a good wife and mother. The person who changed that irrevocably was her stepfather.

At the age of eight, Hiroko hadn't quite understood why her parents divorced. And even now, at the age of twenty-eight, she still didn't understand why her mother had chosen to remarry the man she did. The way he treated her mother put Hiroko off of men for good. He regarded Hiroko as nothing more than irritating baggage and had abused her physically and mentally, constantly telling her that she was useless and stupid. It was purely to prove him wrong that she picked the hardest university course that she could think of – medicine.

She hadn't seen either of her parents since she left home, and frankly she preferred it that way. In hindsight she realised that it had been a ridiculous reason to become a doctor. But she wouldn't trade it for anything – well, except maybe a life of idle luxury, but that was hardly likely to be an option at any point in the near future.

The only person to know the full story was Kaori. The motherly nurse had been a friend of the family, and she was the one who had convinced a depressed and hopeless fifteen-year-old Hiroko that she had the talent to do whatever she wanted. But she had never got the family she had dreamed of as a child. Perhaps it was due to some long-suppressed maternal instinct that she was so determined to help the younger patients that came her way.

And perhaps it was because she saw a shadow of the frightened child she had been in Yugi that she was more determined to help him than she had ever been to help anyone else.

**XxXxXxX**

It was a week later Hiroko reluctantly conceded that Yugi had recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital. She wasn't really happy about it, but the rules were unusually specific about patients outstaying their welcome. Normally she wouldn't be averse to discreetly bending the rules, but she was probably right in suspecting that Tenchi would jump at the chance to rat her out to management.

The standard follow-up was counselling a couple of times a week. Hiroko took a very dim view of psychiatrists in general, and the ones at that hospital in particular, so it was with a marked lack of enthusiasm that she arranged the appointment. A preliminary session conformed her views – Yugi came out muttering furiously that psychiatrists were irritating, smug hypocrites, and the only thing bigger than their wage packets was their ego. Hiroko's understanding of the matter was clearly backwards if that was meant to be an improvement.

"You'd better take good care of him," she told Yami warningly as the pair left together. He didn't even dignify that with an answer – of course he would. It was already dark outside as they started the long journey home. She watched them walk away from the hospital from the window of her office. Yugi cringed away as someone passed too close, and Yami put a protective arm around the smaller boy. Hiroko couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps he would be alright after all.

**XxXxXxX **

**Author's Note: I could have ended it here. For a while I was going to. But I think I owe my beloved reviewers more than that**

**XxXxXxX**

The bus was very crowded; which, given the circumstances, was inconvenient. It was only natural that Yugi would be extremely twitchy about strangers coming too close. There was standing room only left on the bus, and people were crammed into that in a way which even sardines would have been appalled by. As he tried to shield the trembling boy from the rest of the crowd – which was becoming increasingly impossible – Yami mentally cursed himself for the worst sort of idiot.

_Yes, public transport at rush hour - the perfect place for him to be. Nicely done, you moron…surely _someone_ could have given you a lift…_

A person can only spend so long brooding over their stupidity before becoming severely depressed, so he was rather relieved when the bus reached their stop. It was late when they finally got home and they were both tired. Yugi was understandably insistent about making sure the doors were locked before they went to bed.

Yami had been running all day on less than four hours of sleep and an obscene amount of coffee. He collapsed into bed, profoundly grateful that he wouldn't have to get up till the following afternoon, and was asleep almost instantly. When was the last time he'd had a decent night's sleep? Certainly more than two weeks ago. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time.

**XxXxXxX**

Yugi, on the other hand, had far more trouble getting to sleep. It was not that he wasn't tired, because he _was_, but he knew that as soon as he fell asleep the nightmares would come again. He had also drunk more coffee than could possibly be healthy, but the effects were wearing off. Sleep was a sly creature, and it pounced on him the second his mind wandered.

_It was dark and cold, and he was becoming increasingly lost. He wasn't entirely sure where he was or how he'd gotten there. Or, most crucially of all, how to get the hell out of there. And then worry was suddenly turned to outright terror as rough hands grabbed him and he was dragged into an alley, a coarse palm slapped over his mouth the stifle his screams. After that, all he really remembered clearly was laughter and pain. Laughter as he cried and struggled uselessly, screaming for help that wasn't going to come. Cruel laughter mocking his pain…_

He woke up screaming.

**XxXxXxX**

The terrified scream that echoed through the house immediately jerked Yami out of his shallow sleep. His body was already halfway to the door before his brain had worked out what the hell was going on. Almost instantly, he was down the hall and into the next bedroom. Yugi was sitting up on the bed, wide-eyed and terrified, tears streaming down his cheeks. Yami sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around his sobbing hikari.

"It was just a nightmare, aibou," he said soothingly; "It's alright."  
"But it's not!" Yugi sobbed, burying his face in his hands, "I know I should g-get over it and move on, but I c-can't. I'm useless. Why do you p-put up with me?"

Yami held him until he had calmed down a little. He reached out and gently but firmly lifted the smaller boy's chin so they were looking straight at each other. He didn't even have to think; he just opened his mouth and spoke the truest words he'd ever said:

"Because I love you, my hikari," he replied, gazing straight into violet eyes still shining with tears, "And I promise that as long as I'm here, no-one will ever hurt you again."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**And the end bit there is dedicated to my dear Ashley, a self-confessed sucker for hurt-comfort pieces.  
I will hunt down and kill each and every person who reads my fic without reviewing it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Stolen Innocence**

**Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi  
Fandom: Yu-gi-oh  
Pairings: Mainly Yami/Yugi, some side-pairings  
Warnings: Yaoi, non-con, bad language  
Disclaimer: Don't own shit - poor me. Except Hiroko, Yoji and Kaori…they're all mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to steal them. I own Tenchi too, but you're welcome to him. He's an asshole  
Author's Note: I may have to up the rating to an M at some point – if all goes to plan, there will be gratuitous violence and a possible lemon ahead. Also, I may start having difficulty in updating soon. I'm back at school now, and they're giving us _so damn much homework!_ :sobs:**

Yugi felt extremely strange when he woke up the next day, and it took him a moment to pin down the change. For the first time since…what happened…he felt completely safe. He opened his eyes and saw familiar tri-coloured spikes. Yami, looking suspiciously innocent in his unconscious state, still had his arms wrapped protectively around his hikari even in sleep. Although he flinched away from all other human contact, Yugi did not feel even slightly uncomfortable at the pharaoh's touch.

Yami stirred a little, slowly opening those brilliantly crimson eyes. He looked at Yugi and gave the slightly dazed smile of someone unable to believe their luck.

"Good morning, aibou. Feeling any better?"  
"Well…yes actually," Yugi replied, sounding rather surprised about the fact.  
"Good."  
"Yami, I…" Yugi frowned; "Did you mean what you said last night?"  
Yami looked completely blank for a moment – clearly it was too early in the morning for him to be functioning properly. Then understanding dawned; "Of course – every word."  
"Good," Yugi said enigmatically. Apparently satisfied, he went back to sleep, leaving a tired and confused Yami wondering what the hell had just happened.

**XxXxXxX**

It was around late morning or early afternoon that Yami finally convinced himself it was a good idea to get out of bed. Yawning hugely, he eventually made his way to the kitchen. It was only with the aid of a possibly lethal dose of coffee that he managed to get his mind to produce anything even vaguely resembling coherent thought.

Yami winced a little at the bright sunlight streaming in through the kitchen window. He hated mornings.

The letterbox rattled, and a brown manila envelope dropped onto the floor. He looked suspiciously at it. Surely all the mail should have been delivered hours ago. He wandered over – coffee in hand – and picked it up. There was no address, just his name scrawled across the front in vaguely familiar handwriting.

"What's that?" Yugi asked, looking down at him from the top of the stairs.  
"Hmm…let's see," Yami said as he opened the envelope. Inside was a file, and a handwritten note. He leafed through the file first; inside was a detailed dossier – address, medical history, date of birth, _everything_ – on someone named Kojiro Shotaro. Laying the file aside, Yami lifted out the note:

_Yami,_

_DNA testing is a wonderful thing, isn't it? This is your man. I have to have a copy of this file on the Police Chief's desk by tomorrow morning - so if you're making your move, it'll have to be tonight. I'll be hoping to hear about lots of blood by this time tomorrow, and I'll do all I can to make sure your name stays out of it._

_Good luck,  
Hiroko_

Yami stared at the note for a long moment, an evil grin slowly spreading across his face. Yugi jumped as the former pharaoh let out a whoop of malicious glee, punching the air in triumph (And spilling a great deal of his coffee in the process, but that was the least of his concerns). Yami gave his bewildered hikari a sunny smile as he passed him on the way up the stairs. He felt happier than he had for a long time. He glanced at the note again – he owed Hiroko big time.

_I'll be hoping to hear about lots of blood by this time tomorrow…_

Well, that was the least he could do. There would be blood. Lots of blood.

**XxXxXxX**

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"  
"For the thousandth time, _yes_, Yami," Yugi replied patiently. Having had the plan explained to him, the usually peaceful hikari was completely in favour; "Besides, Ryou's supposed to be coming over – I won't be alone for long."  
"Fine. I'll be back by morning." He brushed a light kiss over his aibou's cheek and walked out into the deepening night.

Yami absently checked his pockets as he walked purposefully through the streets. He had extorted a rather nice selection of painful-looking pointy things from Bakura, accompanied by a mutter of; 'you'd better damn well know how to use them, Pharaoh'. He chose to take that as the white-haired thief's own socially maladjusted way of wishing him good luck.

He tested the edge of something that bore a vague resemblance to a scalpel, and gave a satisfied grin as blood blossomed from where it had sliced open his finger.

He was going to enjoy this.

**TO BE CONTINUED  
Hehehe…Yami's not much of a morning person, is he? I didn't mean for it to happen, but coffee is becoming quite a recurring theme in this fic…  
Well, what do you think? I know it's a bit short, but if you hated it, I actually have an excuse this time! I'm very sick right now, and I feel like shit. I'm afraid this was the best I could do**

**Review or else…I could easily put _your_ details in that envelope, you know…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stolen Innocence**

**Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi  
Fandom: Yu-gi-oh  
Pairings: Mainly Yami/Yugi, some side-pairings  
Warnings: Yaoi, non-con, bad language  
Disclaimer: Don't own shit - poor me. Except Hiroko, Yoji and Kaori…they're all mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to steal them. I own Tenchi too, but you're welcome to him. He's an asshole  
Author's Note: Yep, and now we come to the gore. Enjoy**

Yami looked up and down the poorly-lit street with some satisfaction, crimson eyes almost glowing in the darkness. From his station at the mouth of an alleyway, he had a clear view of the only door out of his prey's apartment. Like many cheap, seedy properties in this part of the city it blatantly disregarded health and safety laws. There was no back door, no fire escape. Perfect.

This particular piece of scum floating in the pond of life – Kojiro Shotaro according to his file – was not home at the moment; that much was obvious. Yami leaned against the dank, crumbling brick of the building on his left and settled down to wait. The prize at the end of this hunt was more than worth a little patience.

Clouds scudded across the sky, revealing intermittent patches of stars. Moonlight shone through gaps in the clouds, lending an eerie, unearthly quality to the street. A police siren wailed in the distance…a few streets over, a woman and her husband were screaming obscenities at each other…somewhere, closer, a child was crying; the plaintive sound of pure misery going unheeded in the indifferent night.

As time stretched out and his quarry made no appearance, Yami's mind began to wander. Who was being arrested? What had the man done to make his wife shriek so and threaten divorce? Why was the child crying, and why did no parent move to soothe its fear? The tiny sounds of a thousand lives pressed in on his senses; each petty and insignificant, yet beautiful in its own unique way. Each tainted by the presence of the monster in their midst. Did he greet his neighbours as he passed them? Did he speak to the people living around him, perpetuating the lie that he was a normal person; a good person?

Not that it mattered. By sunrise the walls of that shabby apartment would be redecorated in a pretty shade of red.

For some reason it hadn't even occurred to Yami that the man would come _through_ the alley rather than past it. But as he turned slowly at the sound of footsteps behind him, he recognised the face from the file instantly. And nothing, _nothing_ he had ever felt before quite prepared him for the rush of pure, searing hatred he felt. The only thing that prevented him from ripping the man's intestines out and draping them all over the alley walls like gory christmas decorations was the fact that he wanted him to _suffer_. However the bastard died, it was going to be exquisitely, agonisingly painful, and excruciatingly slow. Disembowelment? Far too quick and painless. Yami was _not_ feeling merciful.

Underneath his jacket his fingers wrapped around the hilt of a knife, and the two circled warily as they sized each other up. The man was tall – easily a foot taller than Yami – heavily built and very muscular. He was the first to break the tense silence.

"What do you want, kid?" he growled.  
"You hurt one of my friends. I'm here for…payment."

The man's eyes widened momentarily in recognition – probably of the hairstyle – and then narrowed to match the nasty smile spreading across his face.

"Ah, _that_ one. Cute little thing…" Innocent enough words twisted to fit his evil meaning. Yami felt a surge of possessive anger that dwarfed what he had felt before at the mere _thought_ of those filthy hands defiling his hikari. He wanted nothing more than to very slowly carve that smirk from his face. To draw his death out over days until his soul finally fled to the underworld, where it would be tormented yet more for all eternity.

"Let's see if you'll scream as prettily as your little friend…"

Apparently he was still under the misapprehension that he held the upper hand. Yami gave a slow, evil smile; and the man backed away in sudden fear as the Third Eye flared into life on his forehead.

"I don't think so," Yami almost purred; "I think you'll be the one to scream…"

**XxXxXxX**

The apartment was tiny and dirty, and the ancient lock had been easy to pick. And there was the sole occupant, tied up like some heathen sacrifice on the bare floorboards. Yami sat on the sagging bed, sharpening one of Bakura's knives as he waited patiently for his victim to wake up. He was in no particular hurry – he owed this piece of scum a _lot_ of suffering, and he didn't want to rush it.

When he finally did wake Yami drew a knife and stood over him, slightly overwhelmed by the pure hatred coursing like poison through his veins. The police would be there by morning – he didn't have nearly as long as he would like. But a few hours was more than enough to inflict a little suffering on anyone.

The first cut, made with great care across the chest, drew a satisfying gasp of pain. He repeated the motion from collarbone to waist, interlacing gashes dripping blood onto the warped wood of the floor. The pattern spread across arms, legs, face, stomach, until Yami inevitably grew bored. A quick search of his pockets turned up some sort of lead-lined club, and he took a twisted delight in the sickening splintering sound of breaking bones and his victim's screams.

But the most satisfying part wasn't the blood, or the screaming, or the pleas for mercy. It was the moment of awful comprehension in his eyes when he truly understood for the first time that he was going to die. That moment of pure terror and despair made Yami happier than he'd ever thought possible, and he threw back his head and laughed in a joyful, delighted, absolutely terrifying sound.

He glanced at his watch and sighed – he'd played for long enough. He made the deepest cut yet across the other's stomach, watching in gory fascination as his guts slithered out across the floor and desperate screams faded from high, keening disbelief to a raw, bubbling sound of pure agony.

It took him perhaps twenty minutes to die this way. Yami gave the gory corpse an indifferent look and emptied a bottle of lighter fluid over the bloodied, mangled mess that had once been a human form. He tossed a match onto it on his way out of the door, and it caught light with a _whoomph_ and a smell of barbecued pork.

His feeling of euphoria lasted all the way through the deserted nighttime streets as he walked home, letting himself in through the back door. It didn't even occur to him that he was covered in blood and assorted gore until something smashed behind him, and he turned to see three pairs of shocked eyes staring at him. The smashing sound had been Yugi dropping a plate as he stared at his darkness in shock. Ryou looked slightly ill, but Bakura just smirked:

"Maybe you really are one of us after all, Pharaoh."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Ooh, I had a lot of fun writing that chapter, sadistic person that I am. And I'll bet that I've made a great many of my bloodthirsty readers very happy. Show your gratitude – review! If I get enough nice reviews, maybe I'll get the guts to write the lemon I've been dithering over. (I get horribly embarrassed as soon as it gets good and can't write any more)**

**I don't know – should I make this an M? It didn't seem all that gory to me…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Stolen Innocence**

**Summary: A vicious attack leaves Yugi broken, but Yami's determined to pick up the pieces. Yaoi  
Fandom: Yu-gi-oh  
Pairings: Mainly Yami/Yugi, some Yoji/Hiroko  
Warnings: Yaoi, non-con, bad language  
Disclaimer: Don't own shit - poor me. Except Hiroko, Yoji and Kaori…they're all mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to steal them. I own Tenchi too, but you're welcome to him. He's an asshole. And no-one owns Kojiro any more, because he's dead:Cue evil laughter:  
Author's Note: And at last we come to it…the final chapter. It's been fun, dear readers. Special thanks go to Reecey-boy, Roguex1979, and Mercy Me It's Ashley, and of course to all my other reviewers. Check my profile if you for some reason want to read more of my random insanity**

**Lately my muse has been showing up around 3am when I really should be doing something else. As such, I haven't been getting a lot of schoolwork done. But disappointing my readers bothers me a lot more than disappointing my teachers, so all is well **

**Ooo…that was a long note. Now for the story!**

KILLER LOOSE IN INNER CITY  
Police baffled by sadistic murder

Kojiro Shotaro, 34, was found dead in his apartment in the early hours of this morning by police officers who had been called by a neighbour in response to the screams heard earlier that same night. A small fire, probably started by the murderer, made the body all but unidentifiable and erased all fingerprints. Shotaro was wanted by the police for several charges of indecent assault… _turn to page 12 for the full story_

Hiroko gave a contented smile and set the newspaper aside. She'd had a hunch that Yami would follow through with his threats, and apparently she'd been right. The police may not have agreed, but in her opinion, justice had been done. She had a rather unconventional idea of what was fair, another one of the things she blamed her stepfather for.

"Hiroko!" She looked up upon hearing her name, and saw someone hovering outside the door of her office.  
"Oh…hello, Yoji. What is it?" He glanced down at the clipboard that was always somewhere on him, dark hair falling into his eyes. He tossed it out of the way with a flick of his head, a habit Hiroko found rather endearing.  
"A couple of things," he dropped an envelope onto her desk; "This came for you. I don't think it's anything official, but it might still be important. And Kaori wants to talk to you."  
"Tell her I'll be along in a minute," Hiroko said absently, opening the letter. He hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say something else, then shook his head and hurried off. Hiroko pulled a file and a note form the envelope. She didn't need to look too closely at the file to recognise it – she unfolded the note and quickly read over it.

_Hiroko,_

_Thanks for the tip – I hope there was enough blood for you. I thought you might need the file back since missing documents could lead to awkward questions. I was fairly careful, and I don't think they'll be able to tie either of us to it._

_I can't thank you enough  
Yami_

Hiroko smiled again and pocketed the note. She lifted the file and walked briskly to the records room, where she slid it into its rightful place with a certain amount of relief. All notions of justice aside, she did _not_ like the idea of going to prison. Now there was no evidence that she'd had anything to do with it.

She made her way to the duty nurse's desk, where Kaori was, as usual, sitting. Kaori glowered at her and flourished another copy of the _Domino Times_: "You wouldn't have had anything to do with this, would you?"

"No, of course not!" Hiroko tried to say. But somewhere on their way to her mouth, the words mutated into a muttered 'yes'. She'd never been able to lie to Kaori. The motherly nurse gave a sigh.  
"You have to be careful, Hiroko! Most people would understand why you did what you did; but if, say, Tenchi got wind of this, he'd sell you out to the police faster than you could say 'thirty pieces of silver'." **(A/N: Wow…biblical allusion. Where the hell did that come from?)**  
"I am being careful," she replied, feeling like a sullen teenager again. Kaori shot her an exasperated look and shook her head.  
"I hope you are. Now…go and do whatever it was you were doing."  
Hiroko walked away, feeling sick with worry. What if Kaori was right? What if she hadn't been careful enough? She was certain she'd done the right thing, but that didn't make the prospect of being caught any less frightening. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, not paying attention to where she was going, that she walked straight into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said.  
"No problem," Yoji replied. He picked up the ubiquitous clipboard he'd dropped and grinned down at her. Hiroko frowned; _when did he get taller than me?_ He didn't move away.  
"What?" Hiroko asked.  
"I was wondering," he said, turning a little red; "If you wanted to go for a drink or something after work?" The last bit came out in a rush, and she stared at him in shock for a moment. _Is he asking me out? So much for me not having a social life…_ She was silent – what should she say?

_They say everyone deserves a second chance  
Maybe I do too_

She smiled: "I'd love to."

**XxXxXxX  
Author's Note: Wow; that was almost a chapter all by itself. I never planned that in any way shape or form, but I had all the characters to hand, and it seemed like a very kawaii way to tie up the character arc. You like?  
Anyway – on with the story!  
XxXxXxX**

"You made the papers," Yugi said, handing a newspaper to his darker half. Yami took it and swiftly read over the story.  
"No pictures," he noted; "I suppose they were worried about scaring the faint-hearted."  
"I'm not surprised – what did you _do_?"  
"Uh…no comment."  
"That bad, eh?"  
"Yes."

Ever since the previous night, Yugi had been the closest he'd gotten to normal for weeks – whoever said violence never solved anything clearly had no idea what they were talking about. His eyes were older now, without the naivety and trust they had held before. Everything about his manner was less innocent and a little more mature. He wasn't a child any more.

The two were lying on Yugi's bed, watching a distinctly second-rate murder mystery film. The plot was convoluted and utterly bewildering, to the point where everything was so confusing that it all somehow became funny. It had become a sort of background noise to their conversation, and the only reason it was still on was that neither of them could be bothered to go and switch the television off.

"Thank you," Yugi said unexpectedly.  
"What?"  
"It's sort of nice knowing that someone's willing to kill for me."  
"I would do anything for you, aibou," Yami said softly, stroking his lighter half's hair; "I love you."  
"I love you too," he replied with a contented smile, settling comfortably into his darkness' arms; "I still have nightmares about what happened. But when I'm with you, I feel safe." Yami smiled.

He leant down to kiss Yugi, and let out a breath he hadn't even been aware of holding as instead if flinching as he had half expected him to, the delicate light responded – hesitantly at first, but then with growing confidence. It was a soft, chaste kiss, but still a huge step for someone who had been cringing away from any human contact for weeks. The film ploughed doggedly on, unaware that its audience had found better things to do. Yugi almost purred as Yami laid soft kisses down his throat. It felt so good, so unlike…

He tensed, and Yami pulled away with a look of concern in his eyes. Yugi was suddenly angry at himself for the momentary flicker of fear he'd felt.  
"I can stop I you're at all uncomfortable…"  
"No! It's just…" He was silent for a moment; "According to my idiot psychiatrist, my problem is negative associations. Maybe it's about time I picked up some positive associations."  
"Yugi…"  
"No," he repeated, "Don't stop. I love you, and I know you would never hurt me." In those violet eyes, Yami saw a glimmer of the trust and hope that had been absent for so long, and it was that more than anything else which convinced him he wasn't making a mistake.

But still, for a moment he couldn't quite bring himself to even move. He didn't want to risk hurting his aibou. For a moment it was unclear who was reassuring whom, unclear exactly who, in the end, was the stronger.

And then, in an action that had little if anything to do with conscious thought, he sat up and pulled his shirt off over his head. Deep purple spikes flattened for a moment before springing back up with a stubborn resilience that no amount of styling had ever been able to tame. The shirt – tossed away with profound indifference – landed on the television, muffling painfully melodramatic dialogue. Something must have snagged the cable, as it switched abruptly off with a dull whine of protest. Not that Yami noticed.

For what seemed like an eternity he could only gaze in mild incredulity of the 'no way in hell am I this lucky' variety at the delicate beauty lying on the bed. Radiant in his sorrow, damaged but not broken.

They didn't break eye contact for a second as Yami slowly undressed him, unveiling creamy skin inch by inch, and Yugi was slightly surprised to find that his initial nervousness had disappeared. He trusted Yami completely, and at that moment, anything that had happened in the past, no matter how traumatic, meant nothing. Soft caresses provided a tantalising background to the devotions of a passionate yet still gentle mouth. Yugi moaned softly and Yami, watching closely for any indication of fear, took that as a good sign. But still, he wasn't about to take any chances.

"If you want me to stop I will…"  
"Oh, _gods_ no, don't stop!" gasped Yugi, who was fairly certain that stopping now would have a very negative effect on his sanity.  
"You're sure?"  
"What part of 'yes' are you not getting?"

Lube…nope, none of that. Damn – so much for forward planning. He'd have to do the best he could with saliva…he observed his handiwork dubiously for a moment. Not exactly ideal, but close enough.

Keeping an iron grip on his self control, he slid slowly inside his aibou, tender kisses and whispered words of love distracting from the initial twinges of pain. Yugi cried out softly and clutched at Yami's shoulders, bracing himself for a rush of unpleasant memories which…didn't come. Then Yami began to move, and he found himself swiftly rendered incapable of coherent thought, never mind anything as complicated as memory. The pain had faded, chased away by an all-consuming pleasure that sent tendrils of electricity racing up his spine to set off brilliant fireworks behind his eyes.

Yami, breath coming in short gasps, knew he wouldn't last much longer, not with the exquisite beauty moaning and writhing beneath him. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he threw back his head and cried out wordlessly as white lightning sparked and flashed in the darkness behind his closed eyelids. Yugi moaned his release only moments later, still trembling from the pure intensity of sensation as strong arms wrapped protectively around him. He pressed his forehead against Yami's chest as their racing heartbeats slowed to a normal rate. Neither of them said anything.

Somehow, they didn't need to.

**XxXxXxX**

Sunlight spilled from the partially-open window into the bedroom, and Yami gave a semi-coherent moan of protest as he buried his face in the pillow. He silently cursed morning as the evilest of all evils. He was supposed to be a creature of darkness – sunlight was _not_ included in the job description. Having finally found a comfortable position in which he was out of the light, he gave a contented sigh and moved closer to the warm body lying next to him.

_Wait, what?  
Oh…right…_

Yugi blinked sleepily and yawned as he woke up. Like Yami, he took a moment to register where he was and what was going on. He seemed a little surprised at the position he'd found himself in, but not at all displeased.

"Are you okay, aibou?" Yami asked, wrapping his arms around his hikari's waist.  
"No," Yugi replied softly. Then he looked up at his other half and smiled; "But I will be."

**/THE END/**

**Yay - I finally finished it! Free cyber-cookies for all!  
Medical help is on standby for those suffering from a fluff overdose  
Reviewers get the YGO character of their choice handcuffed to their bed for a night**


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